Petitt flew into Denver and had a look at the site, a run-down ski resort then called Squaw Pass that hadn't operated since 1974.

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"When times are bad, that's the very worst time to cut and run, " says Arntzen, 51, an athletic Norwegian-American who has run seven marathons and competes in 90-kilometer ski races.

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Its owner and founder, Patrick Cunningham, an entrepreneur with a winter ski rental business, helped establish the now-popular river outings run by a dozen companies from spring through fall.

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We're out of the helicopter, staring down the Big One, a 4, 500-foot run down a massive glacier by far the longest ski path I've ever seen.

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